The Ups and Downs of the Ninja Way
by AnimeFann88
Summary: He asked "Just think! Are they really worth all of this! What did they ever do for you?" I answered quietly "They helped me when no one else would. They were there for me when no one else was. They understood me." And I ran at him, ready for revenge. R R!


**TITLE:** The Ups And Downs Of The Ninja Way

**AUTHOR:** Really! You should've checked before you opened this now shouldn't you have!

**SIGNATURE:** (to be purely original) xX^-^AnimeFann88^-^Xx

**RATING:** I have no idea but I'll put T

**SUMMARY:** He asked "Just think! Are they really worth all of this! What did they ever do for you!?" I answered quietly "They helped me when no one else would. They were there for me when no one else was. They understood me; especially Naruto. What did you do!? Nothing! You kicked me when I was down. You ran away when I needed help. You turned your back because I was weaker than you. Well you know what!? I'm stronger than you now!" And I ran at him.

**WARNINGS:** Helplessly confused story. It'll be better later.

**DISCLAIMER:** I only own my story. I also own that fact that my character pones Sasuke!

**DEDICATED:** To my love of all the people reading this and to my love of anime. (and ninjas)

**Chapter 1 – The Beginning Is The Beginning**

I was thinking that I would stay around the outside of the rooms. I would do my work and I won't talk. I would train by myself. I'd never had friends before, so why should I make some now? People have always turned their back on me because I was different. Why should they stop now?

I guess I should explain. When I was born, I was horribly weak. When I was 3, my parents decided that they wanted a child that was strong and that could take care of them when they get old. So, they dumped my in an alley.

I learned how to take care of myself when I was only 3. After I learned how to take care of myself, I stopped being weak.

One day, when I was walking along the street, this guy passed me and noticed that I was alone. He offered if I wanted to be taken to an orphanage, but I said that I didn't. Instead, he gave me enough money to get an apartment and still some to buy food.

Also, he offered me a job as a busboy and I took it. It paid me 5 dollars a day, which considering I was 4 at the time, was a lot of cash. I worked there until I was 12 and I could get a job helping animals at a shelter. By then, I had heard that my parents died in a plane crash.

So again, there I was looking at my house. I was 16, so I was old enough to start training to become a ninja. I was off to my 1st day at the ninja school. I didn't want any friends because they would turn their back on me because I was different,

I started walking. I had always walked in the alleys or the shadows. I wasn't used to people looking at me. This time, I was walking in plain daylight, but a lot of people were staring at me. I guessed that this was normal too.

I finally got to the academy, and as soon as I got in the door, everyone fell silent and started staring at me. I started blushing. As I walked over to an empty desk, some boy whistled.

Now I knew something was up. Some girls came over and went strait up to me.

One of them had pink hair that went down to her middle back. She had green eyes. She had a red dress with white designs on it that when it got to her upper thigh, cut off on the sides. Where the dress cut off were tight shorts. She had all the ninja equipment that was needed. Her headband want tied around her head as an element to hold her hair back.

Another one of them had blond hair that was pulled back and that went to her lower back. She had blue eyes. She had a purple shirt and a purple skirt. She had bandages on her upper thighs. She wore these bag-like things that covered her elbows. She had all the necessary ninja equipment that was needed. Her headband was tied around her waist as a belt.

The last of them had short bluish-black hair. She had lavender eyes. She wore a tan sweatshirt and blue pants that only went down to her shins. She also had all the things that you need when you are a ninja. Her headband was tied around her neck as a necklace.

The one with the pink hair said "Hi! I'm Sakura, that's Ino" as she pointed to the blond one who waved "and that's Hinata." as she pointed to the one with the short hair who smiled shyly.

Sakura then said "We came over to tell you why all the people are staring and why one of the boys whistled." Ino then said "It's because you're pretty and because they think that you look hot."

I didn't think that I looked all that special. I had long brown hair that went all the way down to my ankles. I had bright green and hot pink highlights in my hair, and then bright green was the same color as my eyes. I was wearing a light blue shirt that cut off after my chest on one side, while on the other side, the shirt went down to the end of my shorts. The shirt only had one sleeve that went about 3 inches down my arm and was on the side that was the stomach was cut off, while the other side had a strap. I had dark blue short shorts on. Other than that, I just had all the ninja gear. My headband was tied around my waist like a belt.

Just then, a group of boys came over.

One of them had spiky blond hair and blue eyes. He wore an orange sweatshirt and orange sweatpants. He had all the necessary ninja items. His headband was tied to his forehead.

Another one of them had spiky brownish-black hair that was pulled back behind his head. He had black eyes. He wore anet-like shirt with a gray jacket on top. He had brown pants that went down to his shins. He had all the ninja equipment and his headband was tied around the top of his arm.

One of the others had spiky (lots of them had spiky hair…) brown hair and black eyes. He had red paint on his face. He wore a gray hoodie. He wore brown pants that went down to his shins. He had all the items that he needed and his headband was tied around his forehead.

Another one had spiky light brown hair and he wasn't really on the skinny side. He had a white t-shirt with red writing on it with a green jacket on top. He had a white scarf on his jacket. He had red swirls on his cheeks. He had brown shorts. He also had bandages on his arms and legs. He had all the ninja items needed. His headband was tied around his forehead and it also cut over the top of his hair.

(How many people are there!?) One of the final ones had spiky black hair and I couldn't see what color his eyes were because he had shades on. He had a gray jacket that was zipped up all the way and covered his mouth and chin. He had brown pants on that only went down to his shins. He had all the necessary equipment and his headband was tied across his forehead.

And the last one (Thank the Lord it's over!) had spiky black hair and black eyes. He had a blue shirt with a big collar on. He had white shorts on. He had bandages on his shins. He had the same bag like things on his elbows as Ino. He had all the ninja items needed. His headband was tied around his forehead.

Ino and Sakura both said "Hey guys. Hi Sasuke!" They both said Sasuke all mushy. Hinata said in her shy voice "Hi Naruto…"

I didn't know which one Naruto was but I was about to find out.

The one with the spiky blond hair said "Hi! I'm Naruto! That's Shikamaru," as he pointed to the one with the spiky hair that was pulled back who put his hand up "that's Kiba," as he pointed to the one with spiky brown hair and the red lines on his face who smiled "that's Choji," as he pointed to the not-so-skinny one who looked up then ate a chip "that's Shino" as he pointed to the one with the shades who nodded once "and that's Sasuke!" as he pointed to the one with the spiky black hair who didn't look up but just said "Hn."

Naruto then said "We came over to tell you who whistled. Kiba, over here, was being a jerk." Then he punched Kiba in the arm. Then Shikamaru asked "So… What's your name?" Sakura then said "Yea! We didn't get that either!" I answered slowly and quietly "My name's Mitsuki." Ino said "That's a cool name. You're named after the moon!"

Kiba then went up to me and put his face right in front of mine, which made me blush slightly. He asked "Why aren't you talking a lot?"

I answered quietly and slowly "Yes, I can hear you, it's just that I don't talk a lot and I'm not used to this many people focused on me…" Kiba, being the rude butt that he is, asked "What about when you talk to you parents?"

I noticed that Naruto looked down and flinched when Kiba said 'parents' and I did the same. I was blushing from answering the question and from this many people all focused on me. I slowly answered "My parents-' I then took a breath and thought about how to word this "-aren't around anymore…"

I was still looking down, so I barely noticed that Naruto looked up and at me with something in his eyes. Relation maybe?

Then the teacher, who I had learned was named Iruka, came in to the room. He put his hands up and said "Okay students, take your seats." I sat in an empty chair in the back. Naruto sat next to me. Everyone else that I knew was at the front.

As Iruka was talking about squads and how they perform, Naruto passed me a note that said 'Meet me under the big tree outside after class. I need to tell you something.' I looked at him and nodded.

Then the teacher called "Okay! Now I will announce who will be in which group. There is an odd number of student's this year, so I squad will have 4 ninjas instead of 3!"

I only paid attention to the ones that called people that I knew. Iruka then called "Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Squad 9! Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, Squad 8! Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Mitsuki Tsukino, Squad 7!" and then he went on.

After he announced that, he said "Okay! Now get into the squads that you were just given and then wait for further instructions."

Then, Naruto and I walked over to the place where Sasuke was sitting, with Sakura following behind us. As we were walking, Naruto whispered to me "Don't forget about what the note said and don't tell anyone, please. What I want to tell you, I don't want anyone else to know."

I felt a little bit weird that I had only know Naruto for less than 2 hours, and he already wanted to tell me something that no one else knew.

We got to the table where Sasuke was sitting and he said "Hn." (Does he ever say anything different?) We sat down on the floor in a circle with Sasuke across from me, Sakura on my right, and Naruto on my left.

As soon as we sat down, Iruka said "Now, I want you and your squad to tell each other your weakness and your strength is, so that they can cover your weakness and you can cover other teammate's weakness. That way, if – let's say that Hinata was good at long distance attacks, but was bad at close combat, and Kiba was good at close combat, but sucked at long distance attacks, they would be perfect on a team together. You may begin, now. When you are done, figure out what are your team strengths and team weaknesses, and whose weaknesses are another person's strengths. Then wait for what I tell you next."

Naruto went first by saying "My strength is that I am a better ninja when my friends are hurt. My weakness is that I always protect my friends, even if it means outing my own life on the line." Then Sakura said "My strength is that I can figure out a situation in a mission really fast. My weakness is that I'm not the world's best fighter." Sasuke just said "My strengths are everything. My weaknesses are nothing." Sakura sighed happily at that.

Then they stared at me for an answer. I simply said, still in my quiet and slow voice from not used to this many people, even though I was getting used to it "My strength is that I will do anything that I can if someone close to me, like a friend, is hurt, even if I am hurt too. My weakness is that I might push myself too far and end up risking my life when I'm trying to save my friends."

After Sakura looked back away from me (again, Sasuke didn't even bother looking up), Naruto kept looking at me. He mouthed an 'Another thing that I have to tell you when we are outside.'

"Now, we are supposed to figure out what our team strength and our team weakness is." Sakura said. She then said "I think that our strength is helping friends who are down, close combat, and figuring out missions. I think that our weakness is risking our lives for our friends, and long distance fighting."

No one argued with her. We all agreed, especially on the figuring out problems part because she figured that out in, what, 5 seconds?

Naruto then blurted out "Now, we have to figure out whose weakness is another person's strength. Sakura, you may do the honors." He said the last part with a funny voice and it made me giggle and I didn't know why.

I felt not as shy and boxed in as I did when I first came. I still felt that I couldn't be myself fully yet, but I felt as if I could at least not be boxed inside. I could be open. I felt like I could trust these people.

Sakura said "Well, from that remark we know that my strength covers one of Naruto's weaknesses. We also know that my weakness is Sasuke's strength. Naruto's and Mitsuki's strengths and weaknesses are almost the same. Sasuke doesn't have any weaknesses. What else?"

I noticed that almost every time that she ever said 'Sasuke' she got a dreamy look in her eyes. So far I have found out this: Sakura and Ino both like Sasuke and Hinata liked Naruto. Hinata liking Naruto, I could understand. He was funny, cute, clumsy… Yea… forget that you just heard that… but Sasuke? He was obnoxious, didn't talk much, and, well, I hope you get the picture.

Naruto raised his hand and called "Oh! Oh! Pick me!" which made me giggle some more. Sakura just shook her head while rolling her eyes and then pointed to him. He then said "I just wanted to know if Mitsuki was a good fighter because we are supposed to know that kind of thing."

Naruto, Sakura, and surprising Sasuke, all looked up and waited for my answer. I took a breath in and said "Honestly, I don't know." I was talking normally now. Not shy and quiet. I didn't know why.

Sakura then said "Then how about you have a match against all of us, as in me, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, to see who the best fighter is. It would be in order from the weakest to the strongest. So me first, then Ino, then Hinata, then Choji, then Kiba, then Shino, then Shikamaru, then Naruto, then Sasuke? The order is not exact from weakest to strongest, but it's pretty close. Except Naruto, where I have NO idea where he should go. And I'm the smart one."

Naruto then said "Thanks for those kind words Sakura." That made me giggle some more. I was finally comfortable around them. But I don't think that I would've been around the other people that I'd met today. I could call Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, my … friends. They were my first friends. Naruto most of all, then Sakura, then Sasuke, but mostly him because he was on my squad and I was comfortable around him.

Sakura smirked at Naruto's remark and said "Anytime. That's why you're our team's 'number 1, hyper-active, knuckle-head ninja'!"

Iruka then said "I hope that all of you have had more than enough time to complete the instructions that I gave you. Please go back to your original seats and when you are all settled down, I will tell you what to do next."

I got up, followed by Naruto and Sakura. We started walking and Sakura moved away from me and Naruto to go sit back down with Ino and Hinata. Naruto and I were still walking when Naruto poked me in the arm and whispered into my ear "It looks like you've come out of your shell now. When you first came, you were all balled up and shy. Now you can be you. But, I see that you can only be you around Sakura, Sasuke, and I."

And what did I do? I started blushing.

Then randomly (or so I thought) Iruka said "Now, if you two are finished, you can return to your seats now."

I hadn't even realized that Naruto and I stopped walking. We were standing in an isle, in between two rows of desks. The entire class was staring. I started blushing and so did Naruto, but I barely noticed. I walked quickly to my seat with Naruto close on my heels.

The class was still staring. Most of the boys looked at me with sad faces and at Naruto with 'I'm gonna kill you!' glares. The girls looked at Naruto, then back at me and gave me a look that said 'I saw that.' in a playful kind of voice. There was one girl in particular, Hinata, gave Naruto a shy 'I like you! How could you do that to me!?' look and me a sad, but still happy for me look.

I wasn't like that! They caught us as Naruto was telling me something that no one else was supposed to hear. We were in the middle of an isle, with him holding my hand from trying to stop me. I was turned around looking at him and he was looking at me. Actually _at _me. Not through me or around me. Like he actually wanted me to be alive. That was the first time that I had ever gotten a look like that. His face was close to mine because he was telling me something no one else was supposed to hear.

I didn't want to hurt Hinata. Naruto was my friend. I didn't like him like that. Or did I? I don't think I did…

We were sitting down, and finally people stopped staring at us. Our blushes faded. I looked at Naruto and he looked at me and an understanding passed between us. After class, we would talk about what happened under the big tree. It was behind the back of the school, so people wouldn't look at us like we were dating.

Then the bell rung, and it was time for class to end.

Well then! Sorry! I didn't mean to make that chapter all sappy and wussy! I meant to start the fights, but fan fiction wouldn't let me write anymore, so, sorry again! :(

I feel bad now… But anyway I SWEAR that next chapter will have the fights and in either the next chapter, the chapter after that, or one of the next chapter's is when Sasuke will face off against the winner(s) of the fight between the ninjas. ;)

-Peace-

xX^-^AnimeFann88^-^Xx


End file.
